Diabetes and Black/African Americans

In 2024, non-Hispanic Black or African American adults were diagnosed with diabetes 24% more frequently than adult of the total population.1
In 2021, non-Hispanic Black or African Americans were diagnosed with end stage renal disease due to diabetes 2.19 times more often than the total population.2
In 2022, non-Hispanic Black or African Americans died from diabetes at a rate that was 78% higher than the total population.3

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Occurrence

Adults ages 18 and over with diagnosed diabetes, percentage, 2024
Black*	Total Population	Ratio (Black* / Total)
12.4	10.0	1.24

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). Interactive summary health statistics for adults: Percentage of diagnosed diabetes for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mortality

Diabetes mortality, age-adjusted rate per 100,000 population, 2022
	Black*	Total Population	Ratio (Black* / Total)
Male	52.8	30.5	1.73
Female	35.5	18.8	1.89
Both Sexes	42.9	24.1	1.78

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). Deaths: Final data for 2022 (National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 4, Table 11). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Complications

Visual impairment among adults ages 18 and over with diabetes, age-adjusted percentage, 2023
Black*	Total Population	Ratio (Black* / Total)
33.9	28.9	1.17

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Visual impairment - National diabetes surveillance system. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Hospitalization for lower extremity amputation among adults ages 18 and over, rate per 1,000 population, 2021
Black*	Total Population	Ratio (Black* / Total)
8.1	6.2	1.31

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Hospitalization for lower extremity amputation surveillance – United States diabetes surveillance system. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Incidence of end stage renal disease (ESRD) due to diabetes, age-adjusted rate per million population, 2021
Black*	Total Population
332.2	151.5	2.19

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). Diabetes-related ESRD incidence surveillance – United States diabetes surveillance system. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Health Care Use

Adults ages 18 and over with diagnosed diabetes who received an annual eye examination in the calendar year, percentage, 2023
Black*	Total Population	Ratio (Black* / Total
71.8	66.0	1.09

Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. (2025). National Health Interview Survey, Healthy People 2030: Annual eye examinations among adults with diagnosed diabetes by race/ethnicity, 2019–2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

*Population is non-Hispanic in the data source.

1 CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults. Percentage of diagnosed diabetes for adults aged 18 and over, United States, 2024. (Back to top)

2 CDC. Diabetes-Related ESRD Incidence Surveillance - United States Diabetes Surveillance System. (Back to top)

3 CDC, 2025. Deaths: Final Data for 2022. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 74, No. 4. Table 10. (Back to top)

Date Last Reviewed: January 2026